The Wittenberg University Tigers are used to having the bulls-eye on their backs. It comes with the territory after more than a decade of winning seasons and three straight perfect North Coast Athletic Conference regular seasons. This week, the Tigers will once again carry that mantle into the conference tournament, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday at home against No. 8 seeded Hiram. Game time is 7 p.m.

Wittenberg concluded the regular season portion of the 2000 schedule with an uneven week. On Senior Night last Wednesday, the Tigers cruised to easy wins in the first two games against visiting Thomas More before suddenly hitting the wall. The Saints rallied to win three straight games and stun the Tigers 2-3 (15-8, 15-2, 10-15, 9-15, 14-16). Wittenberg dropped the non-conference decision despite 73 assists by sophomore setter Shelli Habegger (Curtice, Ohio/Oregon Clay) and double-digit kill totals for four players - sophomore outside hitters Brittany Baume (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) and Teresa Murphy (Blacklick, Ohio/Newark Catholic) and freshman middle hitter Sarah Muzi (Canton, Ohio/GlenOak).

Muzi continued her hot play over the weekend and helped the Tigers bounce back to finish third in the Calvin College Invitational. Wittenberg started off the weekend with a pair of victories on Friday night over Bluffton, 3-0 (15-7, 16-14, 15-10), and the host school, 3-0 (15-8, 15-4, 15-11). Murphy showed the way against Bluffton with 19 kills, while Baume was tops in the nightcap with 17 kills.

On Saturday, the Tigers ran into stiffer competition and dropped a 0-3 (10-15, 12-15, 13-15) decision to DePauw. Then in the consolation match for third place, Wittenberg came back to beat former Ohio Athletic Conference rival Baldwin-Wallace 3-1 (15-7, 15-5, 11-15, 15-6). Muzi, who was named to the All-Tournament team for her performance in the four matches, topped the team in kills against DePauw with 15. And Murphy pounded out 25 kills in the victory over B-W.

Baume, the 1999 NCAC Player and Newcomer of the Year, leads the conference and ranks 11th nationally with 426 kills in 93 games, good for a 4.58 average in matches through Oct. 22. Habegger ranks first in the conference and second nationally with 1395 assists in 103 games, good for a 13.54 average.

This week's NCAC tournament will continue for the winner of Tuesday's first round matches on Friday at the site of the highest seeded team remaining. The semifinals are slated for 530 and 8 p.m. on Friday, while the championship match will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Denison is the No. 2 seed behind Wittenberg, while Allegheny grabbed the No. 3 seed and Ohio Wesleyan rounds out the top four. The Tigers defeated all four in the regular season handily, dropping just a single game to the Big Red.